Representatives of Oklahoma’s EPSCoR and IDeA programs recently met with members of Oklahoma’s federal congressional delegation at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. as part of the coalition to support continued funding of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program.

The Oklahoma delegation provided Legislators, including Rep. Tom Cole, evidence of EPSCoR and IDeA’s impact in the Sooner State.

Through NSF EPSCoR, more than $452 million in new research funding has been generated in Oklahoma since 2001, increasing the state’s competitive edge in research growth, as well as tech-based business development.

To support the state’s emerging high tech businesses and research labs, Oklahoma NSF EPSCoR is developing a highly qualified and diverse applicant pool. In 2017 more than 21,800 Oklahomans, representing every group in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline were served through EPSCoR outreach and education programs.

Oklahoma is ranked forty-third in the United Health Foundation’s 2017 U.S. Health Rankings report. The IDeA program is rising to meet the state’s health needs through translational research and by producing world-class scientists, educators, and physicians.

The Oklahoma coalition was led by Oklahoma EPSCoR State Director Jerry Malayer, Oklahoma NSF EPSCoR Project Director and Principal Investigator Ray Huhnke, and Oklahoma IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence Principal Investigator Darrin Akins. They were accompanied by representatives of two highly successful EPSCoR outreach and research partnerships: Science Museum Oklahoma and University of Central Oklahoma. The distinguished partner representatives were Sherry Marshall, President of Science Museum Oklahoma, and Wei Chen, professor of biomedical engineering and dean of the College of Mathematics and Science at the University of Central Oklahoma.________

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OIA-1301789. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.